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Nursing is my skill, but caring is my profession
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The team at 2 West at Mayo Clinic Hospital in Arizona wanted to thank everyone who made Nurses Week 2020 special for ICU nurses. They decided to say it with photos.
This year, National Nurses Week was a challenging one for nurses across the country. But the gratitude and support felt by the nurses at the 2 West Intensive Care Unit (and beyond) at Mayo Clinic in Arizona inspired them to create a special message of gratitude and hope that they could share with their colleagues and patients.
Dominque Peworski, a nurse at 2 West, rallied her colleagues and put together this photo collage after getting some inspiration from an image on Pinterest. She wanted it to be a special thank-you to colleagues, families and friends — everyone who made Nurses Week 2020 special for the team of ICU nurses.
"I thought that it would be a special way of not just saying thank you for all of their support, but to also tell them that nursing isn’t just a job, but rather a passion," Peworski says. "It’s not glamorous, the hours are long, and sometimes you come home feeling sad or defeated. But having the opportunity to come back again another day and make a difference in someone’s life is a gift like nothing I can explain."
Having the opportunity to come back again another day and make a difference in someone’s life is a gift like nothing I can explain.
Dominque Peworski
The response from her colleagues was "overwhelmingly positive," she says. And soon the pieces started coming together.
"It seemed to instill a sense of pride and unified the ICU during a time that has been more stressful than many have ever experienced during their nursing careers," Peworski says. "We used a diverse group of nurses — new, old (experienced), genders, ethnicities, and some are advanced practice RNs. Some of the nurses in the photos are even nurses that used to work here on 2W and are now in other departments but came back to help us out."
She adds, "I’ve enjoyed watching my peers look at the photo and try and guess who’s who."
Speaking of positive reactions, check out the response to the photo collage on Mayo Clinic social media channels:
What better way to recognize the Year of the Nurse and Midwife and the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birthday.
This article is written by Mayo Clinic Staff. Find more health and medical information on mayoclinic.org.
